His brandy arrived in the care of another page boy, who gazed at him with wide-eyed speculation. "Miss Alex is still busy, sir. It might be some time till she can see you."
"Tell her it's not a problem. My schedule is free."
"Yes, sir." But the boy continued to stare as though Sam were an alien creature.
"Is there more?" Sam asked, entertained by the young boy's inspection.
"They're arguing about you," the youngster replied artlessly.
"They?"
"Miss Alex's ma and her."
"Ah…" Apparently, not only his father was disturbed by their acquaintance. A hint of amusement shone in Sam's eyes. "Who do you suppose will win?"
"Miss Alex."
"No equivocation?"
The boy looked at him blankly.
"You're sure?" Sam translated his query into understandable English.
The boy's face lit up. "Oh, there ain't no question o' that. Miss Alex always gets what she wants."
Sam suppressed his urge to smile. He'd experienced that phenomenon firsthand. "In that case, please tell Miss Alex I await her convenience. And offer my congratulations on the new baby."
"Yes, sir. Everyone be right happy about the baby, what with it comin' early and all."
"I'm sure they are. Is it a boy or a girl?"
"A girl, and everyone's sayin' it's about time, seein' how they got four boys already."
"This is indeed a happy day, then." The viscount's well-being continued apace.
"It is fer sure. I'll go tell Miss Alex you be waitin' as long as it takes."
"Thank you." He handed the boy a sovereign.
"They said you was a rich cove."
Sam's brows rose.
"The footmens."
His brows lowered, mildly relieved. He preferred not being discussed in those terms by the delectable Miss Ionides.
"It's gonna take a while," the boy warned.
Sam smiled. "I don't care."
And he found he didn't, despite the fact he sat alone in the drawing room for a very long time. He had plenty of brandy, Alex was close, and sometime today he'd see her.
How simple life had become when pleasure was measured by the availability of an auburn-haired lady, when just knowing she was near brought a smile to his lips.
"You shouldn't have come here."
Alex's sharp voice shattered his blissful reverie. He looked up to see her closing the drawing room doors behind her, the rigidity of her spine matching the tartness of her tone.
"I know I shouldn't have," he said, rising from his chair. "I'm sorry."
She turned to him, her cheeks flushed, her gown rumpled, her hair tumbled down her shoulders.
"This is damnably awkward, Ranelagh." She ran a hand over her disheveled hair. She couldn't help noticing that he looked beautifully point-device in superbly tailored charcoal-gray superfine.
"My apologies again. Is the baby healthy?"
A smile warmed her expression. "Yes… thankfully. But you have to go."
"I know. I heard you and your mother were arguing about my presence."
"Fillippo told you, I suppose."
"If he's the blond page boy-yes. But I had to see you."
"My family doesn't approve. You know that. You're embarrassing me."
"Talk to me for five minutes and I'll leave."
"I don't need another Harry, Sam. I don't want one."
"Am I like him?" His dark gaze was bland, faintly mocking.
He was so damnably assured, she thought, the legions of women no doubt contributing to his confidence. "No, you're not," she said, peevish and ruffled, "and if you dare be smug, I'll hit you."
"You're not like any other woman I've ever known." His voice was ceremoniously polite. "And I wouldn't dream of being smug."
"I'm not sure I like the comparison."
"Truth to tell, neither do I. I wish you were like all the others. I'd be drinking at the club right now instead of chasing after you and feeling more like Harry than I'd wish."
"And I wish you were like Harry so I could deal with you in a rational way."
"Nothing about this is rational." He glanced around the room, as if in emphasis. "I had to get your direction from Leighton."
"Oh, good. Now everyone will know."
"They do already. My father called on me this afternoon and your name came up almost immediately."
"Maybe he and my mother could share their complaints."
Sam laughed and held open his arms. "Come here, darling. I have no complaints at all."
She didn't move. "Am I supposed to forgive your audacity and fall into your arms just like that?"
"I wish you would," he replied, letting his hands fall to his sides. "I feel strangely lost without you."
"Or perhaps you're only in your pursuit-of-pleasure mode."
He tipped his head faintly. "That wouldn't require a visit to your brother's house."
He was right, of course. Any number of amusements were available in London. She sighed softly.
"I brought the baby a present." He pulled the small gift from his pocket and smiled at her. "Does that help put me in your good graces?"
"You're too much in my good graces," she said. "That's the problem."
"It doesn't have to be a problem right now," he said, setting the gift down on a table. "Let me hold you for a moment. Please?"
"I shouldn't. Someone might come in."
"You can pretend you fainted in my arms," he said with a grin.
"I'm sure my family would accept that fiction," she replied, smiling back.
"Come," he cajoled, opening his arms again, and she went to him because she loved being held in his arms, as she loved everything about him. And as he enfolded her in an embrace, she leaned into his strong body, smiled up at him, and allowed herself to enjoy the pleasure. "Your flowers were beautiful," she said. "The nosegay is hanging from the baby's cradle and Tina is sure you're in love, but then, she loves love in any form whatsoever."
His glance was amused. "Ah… an advocate."
"I wouldn't normally bring up the subject of love with you, but I just finished arguing with my mother for the better part of an hour, and I'm no longer in the most civil mood, and she certainly would like to know. Mother's old-fashioned, and opposed to men like you, but then, you know that already." She blew out a large breath. "Forgive me… I'm tired and undone and maybe half sad because the baby's so beautiful and not mine and I shouldn't have asked you something so stupid. But what in the world did bring you here?"
"I wanted to see you."
She wrinkled her nose. "And it couldn't wait?"
"It didn't seem like it could wait."
Her gaze was direct. "You've lived too long without restraints."
He chuckled softly. "And you haven't?"
"I don't think I'd come calling at the house of my lover's brother, who, by the way, said pointedly that he's never met you and said more pointedly that he had no intention of meeting you today either."
"When can you leave?"
"Sam! Are you deaf? Don't you understand the damnable stir you've caused?"
"I understand. Really I do, but you have to sleep eventually, and I was thinking I could just wait for you outside in my carriage and when you finally feel the need to sleep, you could sleep with me."
"In your carriage?"
"In my carriage if you wish, but I was thinking possibly at the Adelphi, or if you need to be close by, at some inn."
"You'd wait?"
"Until hell freezes over."
The silence was so profound after his pronouncement, the ticking of the clock sounded like a hammer on an anvil.
"I mean it," he said softly.
"But you don't know why."
"Do I have to?"
Her mouth twitched into a half-smile. "I just thought one of us should."
"I don't think it's a requirement."
She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, debating the ramifications if she did what he proposed. "I couldn't slip away until very late. And even then I'm not sure," she equivocated.